


Across From You

by e_dog



Series: Across The Universe [5]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 00:17:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17233859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_dog/pseuds/e_dog
Summary: Maybe it was fate, they both decided.  Fifth and final part in the Across the Universe series.





	Across From You

Lena was happy. 

Happiness wasn’t something a Luthor dwelled in for very long. 

Lionel smiled at her genuinely once.  The day he picked her up to take her home he smiled at her.  The smiles were so few and so far in between that ‘adoption day’ had become a memory immune to fading. 

In the days prior to stealing away in the observatory, she and Lex would share in laughter.  She idolized him and he made her giggle well into the late hours on nights she should have been resting up for school. 

Lillian, well, she almost never smiled.  And when she did, it wasn’t sincere. 

There was a brief period in the life of the Luthors (just shortly before entering her senior year) that saw academic achievements, exceptional scientific breakthroughs and true familial strength through loyalty.  It wasn’t necessarily love, but it was in that ephemeral moment she had been happy.  They all were. 

And then Lionel died.  Lex went mad.  Lillian swore revenge. 

Lena had no choice.  She had to set herself apart.  She had to work harder than she ever had.  This time, there was no holding back.  She was a genius and the world would know it. 

She didn’t recognize it at the time, but a nervous young reporter would be instrumental in helping reshape the Luthor name. 

A young woman with a shy, yet disarming smile. 

A smile that made Lena feel so good. 

And after the last year, how could she not be happy with where she was now? 

Sam was cured.  The Worldkillers were gone.  And while she didn’t believe in magic, she could feel deep within her heart that Kara Danvers had done something extraordinary to save them from a catastrophic end. 

Oh, and maybe flying with Kara had become decidedly less frightening. 

At first, Kara would whisper _don’t be afraid_ when they took to flight.  Lena would almost immediately relax at those words, keeping her head burrowed between Kara’s neck and shoulder.  Kara’s grip was always sure and after a while that assurance bled into Lena herself.  Secretly, she couldn’t wait for the next time she was lifted toward the heavens. 

There were some nights, however, when flying wasn’t even necessary.  There were some nights she had never felt closer to the stars than when cradled in Kara’s arms. 

They touched down on her balcony ever so gently.  She slid out of Kara’s arms to her feet.  The Girl of Steel was clearly ecstatic, overwhelmed with relief that they could overcome the myriad of difficult situations and choices that had to be made to get to this moment. 

Everyone would be okay. 

Kara pulled her into a warm embrace, her cape seemed to wrap them both up, protecting them from the winds.  “I need to go back to the DEO.  Not long, I promise.” 

Before Kara could pull away, Lena held fast, didn’t let go as she came to a decision.  “Move in with me.”

“What?” Kara said, leaning back just enough with an inquisitive look. 

“You have super hearing.  I know you heard me.” 

Kara’s smile was genuine, but that little crinkle between the eyes was also present.  “Really?  You want me to move in with you?” 

“You already have a key.” 

“No, I don’t.  I use your balcony.” 

“Same difference.” 

Kara chuckled.  “You’ve been to my apartment.  I’m a mess!” 

Lena shrugged.  “You currently have a week’s worth of sweatshirts that have made a home on my couch.  A pair of running shoes at the door.  A slew of DVDs on the TV stand.  My headboard is broken…” 

“I said I was sorry….!” 

“A piece of my granite countertop is sitting in the trash.  I need a new frying pan….” 

Kara finally raised both hands up to stop her.  “Okay, okay!  I’m a tornado and I basically already live here.  I get it.”  Lena allowed her smile to grow because Kara was still looking at her like she was the entire world.  Kara placed a soft kiss on her lips and said quietly against them, “Yeah.  Yes.  I’ll move in.” 

She surged forward to kiss Kara more soundly. 

Oh, yes.  Lena was most certainly happy. 

******

Kara was happy. 

She was _beyond_ happy.  Absolutely nothing seemed to be weighing on her.  Her bag got caught in the elevator door; no big deal, right? She might have showed a little bit of super strength to pry the doors open to get it back though.  Oh, and Snapper got on her case about something (she can’t even remember now).  Noonan’s didn’t have French vanilla flavor (like, really??) for her coffee which was mostly tragic but not the end of the world.  Trust her.  She knew from first hand knowledge what the end of world would look like. 

A quick text to Lena and a few emojis later and everything that had gone wrong was infinitely brighter, better.  The knowledge that Lena was never too far away was a huge relief. 

It wasn’t until later when she was finally able to shrug out of her cape and flop onto her bed did reality bowl her over with a huge dose of truth. 

She was moving in with Lena. 

Her bed would be their bed.  Most of her furniture would likely go into storage, but a good chunk of it didn’t match with anything anyway so that probably was a good thing.  The pantry would be a mix of healthy garbage and every salty snack known to mankind.  And oh Rao, her cape.  Her cape would be hanging in Lena’s closet!  _Their closet._

She shot off a frantic text:  _Alex!  911!_

Alex Danvers didn’t have super speed, but she was in Kara’s apartment with gun at the ready and a determined glint in her eye in record time.  Kara shrieked (only a little) when Alex kicked the door in.  How was Alex able to get past her super senses a second time in as many months?  Was she really that distracted? 

“Kara!  What? What happened?” Alex said in a rush.  “What’s the emergency?” 

It took a moment, but Alex noticed Kara in her pajamas, an open pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream on the counter and the complete lack of an emergency anywhere in the apartment.  The agent lowered her gun with a deep scowl. 

Kara’s eyes were wide, her voice meek.  “Lena wants me to move in with her and I said yes.” 

The next few minutes saw the Danvers sisters arguing (rather loudly) what constitutes a ‘911 emergency text’ and what doesn’t. 

When that fizzled out, Alex pursed her lips some as if trying not to smile too hard.  “So, it’s that serious, huh?” 

Shyly, Kara nodded.   “Yeah, it’s that serious.” 

Alex wrapped Kara up in a warm, tight embrace.  Kara returned it two-fold and only realized it was way too much when she heard Alex suck in what air she could.  She let go immediately.  “Oh Rao, I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to squeeze so hard…!”

“Kara, it’s fine,” Alex chuckled, rolling her shoulders a little bit.  “You deserve to be happy.”  Kara must have sported a look of uncertainty because her sister grabbed her hands and repeated, “You _do_ , Kara.  You’ve had a pretty shit year and I see how happy she makes you.  We can have a moving-in party, you know?  Don’t think I’m going to allow you to just super strength all of your stuff over there.  We’ll get Winn and James and an actual moving truck.  We’ll get Lena to order a dozen pizzas.  We’ll make a day of it.”

Kara looked skeptical, but now for an entirely different reason.  “I don’t think Winn is going to find this as much fun as you think he will.” 

******

Winn was exhausted. 

And Kara was very acutely aware of this fact because he had definitely said so only a million times.  He had also begged Alex to please, please, _please_ let Kara super strength some of her furniture up to Lena’s penthouse.  (It’s a penthouse, Alex!)  At first, Kara suspected that Alex was pushing for an authentic human driven moving experience because it was fulfilling some strange wish to help Kara move in with her significant other.  After a while, however, she noticed the way Alex smirked when their resident computer nerd would flop unto a chair or couch to catch his breath.  Kara rolled her eyes as she realized Alex was enjoying making Winn sweat it out. 

James Olsen was another story altogether.  He had discarded his tee leaving him in his a-shirt and a pair of jeans that hugged his legs in the most sinful of ways.  A sheen of sweat indicated he was giving it his all to help his friends merge their two lives together.  The romanticized fantasy she had of James was long gone, but she’d be lying if she didn’t say that on occasion, she could still appreciate that he took care of himself. 

“Okay, now I see the benefit to having other people help you move in,” Kara mused aloud. 

Lena’s eyes were also trained on their buff friend and hummed in agreement before recognizing what she had just agreed to.  She playfully hit Kara’s arm and said, “Don’t get any ideas.”

“You were staring too!” Kara shot back indignantly. 

“Ladies!” Winn called to them.  They both turned to look at him.  His look was incredulous, “A little help?”

“We’re good!” they both said in unison. 

Winn groaned. 

******

Lena was in love. 

She hadn’t really understood the weightiness of such a claim until now, but she was.  The feeling was all consuming and almost overwhelming, but with soft glimmering lights and the smell of Christmas all throughout her place, it was hard not to feel nothing but love for Kara Danvers. 

She had found it all rather silly at first.  Honestly, celebrating Christmas?  She can’t remember the last time she did.  Sure, the mansion would have workers drag in an enormous tree each year and Lillian would hire decorators to trim it and add other holiday flourishes to the house.  A dinner would be catered and all of Metropolis’ richest and finest would pour in for a fabulous party. 

But those parties were hardly about Christmas.  It was just an excuse to show off their power and wealth. 

No, this was certainly different.  Kara loved Christmas. 

“This isn’t even your God,” Lena remarked casually.  She watched Kara float up so she could comfortably rest the star on the top of the tree.  “In fact, a lot of these traditions are Pagan in origin.  It’s all rather superficial.” 

Kara had finally set the star the way she wanted, before flashing a look of sympathy in Lena’s direction.  “Oh, Lena.  That’s not why I celebrate it.”  She landed on the floor with a soft thud and breathed in deep, presumably to enjoy the smell of the pine needles. 

Lena smiled at Kara indulgently.  “Then why?” 

Kara’s smile only grew.  “Alex.”  Kara took Lena’s hand in hers and led her to the couch.  They both fell into it and then into each other admiring the work Kara had done on the tree.  “Alex made it no secret that she wasn’t fond of my arrival.  It took her a while to warm up to me.  Actually, it may have taken me just as long.” 

“Adversarial siblings?  I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Lena quipped. 

Kara pinched her arm playfully.  “Anyway, my first Christmas with the Danvers was the first time they treated me like family.  I had been on Earth for a few months and aside from school, I didn’t leave the house.  I had no friends.  I had no where to go and Eliza was so protective of me, it was stifling.  I felt more like an intruder than welcome.

Alex handed me my first ever Christmas gift.  Jeremiah and Eliza had waited patiently, allowing me to be the first to open one.  It was a fairly large box and Alex helped me rip off the paper.  I didn’t understand at first what I was looking at but she explained to me it was a telescope.  I could use it to look at the sky.  She had seen me staring up at the stars every night since I arrived.  She thought it would help me adjust if I was able to chart the stars.  Maybe she didn’t like me, but in that moment, I knew she didn’t hate me.

So, for me, Christmas is not about religion or tradition.  It’s about family.  It’s about love.  Oh, and the food!  I can’t forget the food.” 

Lena chuckled, but her smile was sad.  “Christmas was not like that in our house at all.”

“I had a feeling,” Kara admitted softly.  She held one of Lena’s hands in hers and squeezed gently.  “So that’s why we’re going to have a Danvers style Christmas here.  Alex and Eliza will cook.  Winn, James, J’onn all plan to join in and bring gifts.  If we’re lucky, we’ll get snow!” 

“You, Kara Danvers, are probably the only person in this entire universe that could make me hate Christmas a little bit less.” 

Kara landed a quick kiss to her temple.  “Then I consider my mission a complete success.” 

******

Kara was in love. 

If she were being honest, she probably always had been.  From the time she flew into Lena’s office to present her true self she had been in love with Lena Luthor.  Or maybe it was before that?  The very first time she walked into Lena’s office with Clark.  She loved her then, right?  At this very moment, Kara couldn’t imagine a time when she wasn’t in love with Lena Luthor.  Even that uncertainty over the use of Kryptonite couldn’t mar what Kara saw as something just short of a miracle. 

Loving Lena Luthor is what made every argument, every nasty word or every disagreement hurt so much. 

Loving Lena was what always pushed her to battle the odds to keep what they have. 

Laughter broke up her thoughts.  They were all gathered together, her Super Friends, at their favorite bar.  It was trivia night and their team _Trivia Newton John_ was currently crushing it.  The other patrons had learned it best to fight for second when Alex, Lena and Winn were on the same team.  Kara and James were always happy to just be a part of the group usually chiming in on the questions referring to pop culture. 

They were having a bit of a break between rounds now and in that time, a lot of stories about the past few days spread around the table between them along with a steady flow of beer.

Like, the bank robbers that Guardian effectively dunked into the harbor after a lengthy road race.  

Winn excitedly shared his progress training with Alex.  Everything hurt (oh God did everything hurt!), but he was feeling more confident he could hold his own if he had to. 

Lena gave an update on Sam and Ruby.  Ruby’s soccer team was doing extremely well.  They all laughed when it became apparent none of them understood any of the sports lingo. 

With each passing day, with every battle Kara fought in National City, with all the danger constantly putting her at odds with her double life, she felt ever more strongly about the next stage of her life.  That she could help expand the House of El by doing the one thing she couldn’t stop thinking about lately. 

Two words.  _Marry me._

“What did you say?”

Kara blinked her eyes once.   Lena’s head had been resting on Kara’s shoulder, the cocktail she had been sipping going to her head some.  But now Lena had shifted just a little, her eyes trained on Kara’s face.  Kara grimaced a little as she realized she did that thing where she said out loud what she was thinking. 

“Um, what do you think I said?” Kara said, edging around the slip up. 

Lena sat up and out of the arm wrapped around her.  Her hand was still resting on Kara’s stomach and the heat from those fingertips seemed to etch into her skin.  She intently watched as Lena took a moment to compose herself as her drunken gaze sobered up of its own accord.    

“I think you said, marry me,” Lena said, leaning in close to whisper her reply in Kara’s ear. 

Kara cleared her throat.  “Um, did I?” 

Thickly, Lena said, “I believe so.” 

“I sort of meant to use my -in my head voice- for that,” Kara mumbled some, shooting fervent glances across the table to be sure no one else had heard.  The answer to this was Lena’s fingers trailing down her stomach over a thigh, resting on a knee.  A gentle squeeze and Kara tried not to react, but her grip on her mug was a little too tight.  It shattered.   

The group stared at the broken glass. 

“Lena, you said you would behave,” Winn said, playfully glaring at her. 

“I didn’t do anything,” Lena said innocently.  Somehow her hands were back on the surface of the table much to Kara’s chagrin. 

“Bullshit,” James chimed in.  “We have to put money into the Kara Breaking Things Fund every time we come here with you.”

Kara could feel her ears burning.  “Okay, can we not do this?” 

“Agreed.  I don’t want to know what Lena is doing under the table with my sister,” Alex said, wincing some even as she made the statement. 

Lena grinned into her glass, finishing off her drink.  “Okay, I’m sorry.  I’ll behave.” 

There was a murmur of ‘thank you’ across the table in response.  Kara relaxed feeling reasonably sure that Lena would just wait until later to discuss the half-ass marriage proposal that slipped out of her mouth, but then….

“Your sister asked me to marry her,” Lena said with a shrug.  “I got a little excited.” 

Kara froze. 

The table stopped chattering.  They all looked at Kara. 

“Wait, just now?” Winn said, his voice low. 

“Uh…,” Kara said.  It was all she could get out.   And then Lena’s hand fell over hers on the tabletop. 

The noise faded out as Kara locked eyes with Lena.  She felt as though she was back on Krypton for just this fraction of a moment, in Jor-El’s lab and placing her selected crystal into the correct slot.  The fuzzy transmission from a very distant planet that hit her ears and changed her life in ways she wouldn’t understand until she reached adulthood. 

Her memories just kept flashing forward from there, that first interaction with Lena in her office to the discovery that with the help of the stars they had actually met before, to playing chess and laughing and yelling and crying and loving.  All of it was there and she wouldn’t change it for anything. 

A soft kiss on her knuckles brought Kara back down to Earth.  Lena was holding on tight and saying ‘yes’ and Kara was really confused for a second. 

“Yes?” Kara repeated dreamily. 

“Yes,” Lena said again, before kissing Kara softly.    

Kara almost didn’t hear Alex whisper to James that ‘Clark was going to have a cow’ once he heard about this.  But she definitely felt when Winn jumped up, bumping the table as he did so and yelled at the top of his lungs, “She’s engaged!  Kara just got engaged!” 

The announcement pretty much killed trivia night as the entire bar roared with delight. 

_Trivia Newton John_ would have to defend their title another time. 

******

She had arrived so many years after Kal-El.  Her mission, her purpose had been taken from her.  She spent so many years trying to make her own way in this new world that at times it felt she might be listless forever.  Becoming Supergirl changed everything. 

Loving Lena Luthor became everything. 

******

She had turned her back on the Luthor Legacy.  She made a new path for herself, but with each passing achievement she only felt hollower.  Her family was never going to appreciate her so she needed to find a new home.  She needed to break herself away from her family just enough to be her own person.  Remaking L-Corp into a force for good changed everything. 

Loving Kara Danvers became her everything. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love given to me on this little journey. I used to use writing as an outlet for my frustrations with life a lot more back in the day. And while I like to think I’ve injected humor into things I’ve written in the past, this story was just so much fun for me. And hopeful. So, this might be the end of this series, but maybe I’ll be back with more. Lena and Kara have a unique relationship – and not just because of their families and that conflict. You can see on the small screen that they truly care for one another. I hope I was able to convey a fraction of that in these stories. Thanks again.


End file.
